One thing that really is Pittsburgh's fault (Philadelphia, Harrisburg: 2013, transfer)

[Craziaskowboi]

You know one thing that really is Pittsburgh's fault? The fact that rural interests dominate Pennsylvania as easily as they do. The Pittsburgh MSA and the Pennsylvania portion of the Philadelphia MSA together account for just over half the state's population, and they pay a far larger share of state taxes and produce a far larger share of the state's GDP. Yet, rural interests dominate the state government, and neither Pittsburgh nor Philadelphia get as much tax money spent on them as they pay.

So how is this Pittsburgh's fault? Because too many Pittsburghers drank the anti-Philadelphia Kool-Aid. Rural Pennsylvania hates Philadelphia, and they're not afraid to let it show. They claim that Philadelphia is some "black hole" for state tax revenue even though, again, Philadelphia pays the state government far more than it receives back. Sadly, too many Pittsburghers fell for that myth, hook, line and sinker, especially the "Picksburgh is a small tahn" imbeciles, and the morons who don't know **** about Philadelphia other than "Flyers suck!" and "They booed Santa Claus!"

Truth is, rural Pennsylvania hates Pittsburgh too, and the only reason it might not seem that way is because rural interests in the state government are too busy ****ting all over Philadelphia to have any diarrhea left for Pittsburgh. If Philadelphia magically got transferred to New Jersey, Pittsburgh would be the next target of the rural politicians who have an uncanny knack for biting the hands that feed them. Pennsylvania would also become a much poorer state in the process, and rural politicians would blame it all on Pittsburgh.

What I'm trying to say is, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia need to realize they're both in the same boat and start coalescing at the state level on matters that they both have to deal with. Together, they have enough clout to influence state politics and start getting their way more often. Apart, the status quo remains, with rural areas stealing the bacon while openly mocking Philadelphia and just ignoring Pittsburgh. It's time for Pittsburgh and Philadelphia to start changing Pennsylvania into a more urban-oriented state befitting one with two major metropolitan areas -- and the only way they can do that is if Pittsburghers start reaching out to Philadelphia instead of continuing with the "small tahn" or "Flyers suck" garbage.

[Aqua Teen Carl]

You make some decent points, I just don't know why you would care since you live in a different state.

[Lobick]

Implicit in your post is that the population of the Pittsburgh MSA have some sort of affection for or recognize their allignment of interests with the City of Pittsburgh (a mere 300k+ souls). I'm not sure that's the case.

Often I've found (anequdotally and not comprehensively, lest some posters take offense) the suburban or exurban resident to be more hostile to urban interests and concerns than their rural counterparts.

I'd be curious to see how the state reps and senators within the Pittsburgh MSA vote on some of the issues put forth that have a pro-urban bent.

[Hopes]

The fact that Harrisburg is in the middle of the rural area doesn't help matters.

Agriculture is dominant in the local news there; whereas, we rarely hear about agriculture issues here.

[Lobick]

Originally Posted by Hopes

The fact that Harrisburg is in the middle of the rural area doesn't help matters.

Agriculture is dominant in the local news there; whereas, we rarely hear about agriculture issues here.

And apparently, more corrupt because of its location:

Here’s why remote state capitals are often more corrupt

[ElijahAstin]

Agreed. And on Philadelphia's end, Pittsburgh needs to start flying on more peoples' radars.

[RyanR]

Out of curiosity, what do you think would happen if you centralized a State's power into its largest city or most affluent area?

What happens to upstate NY if the Capital was moved to NYC?
California if moved to LA?
IL to Chicago?

It's too much power and money in a central area.
My history is rusty but think historically about:
Saint Petersburg in Russia
Versailles in France
Rome in Italy

Look at our Washington DC.

[I_Like_Spam]

Most of the Pittsburgh MSA is rural areas, mining and small towns- Fayette County, most of Butler and Armstrong and Westmoreland counties are more in touch with their outlying neighbors than they are with the big city in the middle of the MSA

[speagles84]

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

Most of the Pittsburgh MSA is rural areas, mining and small towns- Fayette County, most of Butler and Armstrong and Westmoreland counties are more in touch with their outlying neighbors than they are with the big city in the middle of the MSA

Area wise. Not population wise. Most of Butlers population is Butler City and Township, Cranberry, Adams, and the other townships bordering Allegheny County. Same can be said about Westmoreland; most of the population lives in Murrysville, Penn Twp, North Huntingdon, Hempfield, Greensburg etc. Armstrong and Fayette are more rural, but then again they have significantly less people living in the county as well.

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by RyanR

Out of curiosity, what do you think would happen if you centralized a State's power into its largest city or most affluent area?

What happens to upstate NY if the Capital was moved to NYC?
California if moved to LA?
IL to Chicago?

It's too much power and money in a central area.
My history is rusty but think historically about:
Saint Petersburg in Russia
Versailles in France
Rome in Italy

Look at our Washington DC.

Located in one of the country's wealthiest metros, and yet, beyond a few crackpots, no calls for revolution in sight.